07 August 2013

Know Your Styles: Berliner Weisse

Urban Chestnut's Berliner Weiss

As we approach the end of one of the best summers I can remember in Indiana a beer style I've had an affinity for is the Berliner Weisse style. This once obscure style at one time was brewed by over 700 breweries in Berlin, but it has been on the decline in Berlin for many decades.

This is a style that is finding a big home here in the United States, however. At the Indiana Microbrewers Festival I was very pleased to see a number of breweries taking on this wonderful summer style.

The beginnings of this style are murky at best. I've found articles saying there are references to it as far back as the 1500's. The style peaked in the 1950's in Germany and has nearly been shuttered with only three larger scale breweries producing the beer in Berlin. This was also a very popular style in the United States after the Civil War with German immigration to the United States, but the style died with Prohibition. The good news is that with the innovation in the American market we are starting to see this style all over the US, and some of those even making their way to packaging to the consumer. Most likely though if you see a Berliner Weisse available it will be directly at the brewpub or brewery.

At is core Berliner Weisse is a wheat beer with usually 50% or more wheat malt. Traditionally it is very low in alcohol. It is usually sub-4.5% ABV, but you will find some Berliner Weisses with strength above that. They are slightly tart and acidic with an almost yogurt-like sour punch up front, but they are crisp and refreshing on the finish. It is one of those beers that you want to have several in a sitting on a warm day. If you are really lucky that would be in a beer garden somewhere with plenty of good friends and conversation. As a kid lemonade defined a summer drink for me, but now as adult this beer fits that mold for me.

Sometimes you might see places that will mix Berliner Weisse with syrups. You might see woodruff and raspberry syrup quite often. That was really so that people could control their level of tartness before modern temperate control and brewing technology. I actually prefer my beer without the syrups now, and I think they taste just great.

Sun King's Shake Up, while not a pure Berliner Weisse, is along the same lines as a real Berliner Weisse. A very nice, tart beer. Also, Union Brewing in Carmel did a Berliner Weisse on cask that was very good. And I agree with Rod that the 1809 is excellent.

I'm with you on this style--It's one of my favorites and what I want to drink most of the time when it's hot outside.

KOTBR #90 - Medal Winners - We visit Barley Island and Brugge Brasserie in Broad Ripple to try some medal winning beers. Things get interesting when we are joined by some special guests, including Michael Phelps, Rob Halford, Glenn Danzig, and Brugge's very own Ted Miller.

Beer: The Pedal Pusher's Potion - Our first in depth feature receives support from Dogfish Head, Left Hand, Breckenridge Brewery, and Smuttynose, and draws in hits from hundreds of cyclists looking for a beer buzz.